The Dreams of Avaris
'''The Dreams of Avaris '''is the second Shadows of the Apt short story written by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It was published on his blog in August 2008. Set in the Commonweal during the Twelve Year War, it follows a Spider-kinden grifter named Avaris and his Dragonfly-kinden partner Gatre Fael as they convince some Imperial deserters to join them on a treasure hunt. Plot Avaris and his partner Gatre Fael are imprisoned by Wasp-kinden. In order to escape, they convince Sergeant Roven and his man Merric that they know of a hidden treasure hoard buried with the dead beneath an abandoned castle in Wasp-occupied territory. Roven and Merric desert with the scammers, and a Fly-kinden named Skessi blackmails his way into the group as well. On the journey, Gatre Fael reveals that the castles in the Commonweal were not built by the Dragonflies but by another kinden, who mentored the Dragonflies in a past age and instructed them to found the Commonweal. Avaris thinks this is part of the scam, to get the Wasps believing in ghosts so they will be easier to cheat later. The five arrive at the castle and find a tunnel leading underground. It proves to be a dead end and Merric lashes out with his sting, inadvertently causing a cave-in. When the dust settles, Gatre Fael has fallen into a treasure vault lined with Dragonfly tombs. The group begin plundering the many priceless treasures inside. Gatre Fael begins screaming about ghosts, which Avaris thinks is part of the plan, and he, Skessi, Roven and Merric flee the castle with two bags of treasure. Camping out in the snow, Avaris mentions hearing voices in the wind to keep up the supernatural charade, but when Roven sends Merric to investigate he never comes back. The next day the others find Merric strung up between two trees, the eyes, tongue and organs removed from his corpse. Avaris assumes it is Gatre Fael's work, but is unsettled. Skessi, convinced that something supernatural is hunting them, demands his share of the treasure and tries to abandon the group, but is promptly shot dead. Roven turns on Avaris, finally twigging that he has been lured into an ambush, but flees when he sees something over Avaris's shoulder and is killed out of sight. Thinking that Gatre Fael has done an excellent job of the scam, Avaris goes to collect the treasure but is stopped by Gatre Fael, who arrives accompanied by the ghosts of ancient Dragonfly-kinden warriors and another huge, pale being obscured by the snow. Fael warns Avaris that the ghosts and their master want to kill him for violating their tomb, but he has managed to barter for his life. Avaris flees, leaving the treasure in the snow. Afterwards, he is never sure if the ghosts were real or if Gatre Fael was simply a master con artist who scammed him. Characters '''Avaris: '''Spider-kinden con-artist, slaver and black marketeer. '''Gatre Fael: '''Dragonfly-kinden con artist, slaver and black marketeer. '''Roven: '''Wasp-kinden Sergeant. '''Merric: '''Wasp-kinden soldier. '''Skessi: '''Fly-kinden sneak. Category:Dreams of Avaris Category:Short Stories